The question I had, brought up by a player, was this: can a player combine their character's schticks into one attack?
I don't see any sure answer in the book, so I am unsure of the answer I gave to that question. I am guessing, and what I replied to the querant, that any schticks that are based specifically upon making on a successful attack may be used as part of one of a character's shots during a sequence and are not combined and stacked with others. Several schticks seem to always be "on", like Hands Without Shadow, and thus could be used with one other schtick that can be used on a successful attack.
I figure that some schticks can work with each other, but that many are exclusive based on their descriptions. A kick attack doesn't work with a punch attack which doesn't work with a conjured blade of darkness... but that many other abilities can stack.
I do think you are right in that any ability that says it is "its own attack" with a shot cost is different from any other ability that is similarly defined, but that some schticks are add-ons that can stack onto normal attacks or abilities.
It certainly seems confusing at times, but as a GM I'd be inclined to allow anything that doesn't seem too broken or nonsensical.
Hands without shadow modifies the Martial Arts value for attacks, and would stack with just about any attack using Martial Arts, although it isn't likely to come up often with a Martial Artist.
Dim Mak is an explicit ability that uses 3 shots and has you make a Martial Arts Punch Attack, which means it is its own thing, and does not combine with weapons or kicks. It also explicitly ignores normal damage determination. Because it invovles a martial arts punch attack, it could in theory be used to trigger various other abilities that say "when you make" or "When you hit with" as long as those abilities combine with a punch.
Whirl of Fury is activated as you make a Martial Arts Nunchaku Attack, which means it won't combine with punches or kicks.
Lightning Fist is activated as you hit with a Martial Arts Punch Attack, which means no combining it with weapon attacks or kicks, but you could in theory combine it with Dim Mak.
Blur of Rage is triggered as you make a Nunchaku attack against a mook, which means you could combine it with Whirl of Fury.
My replies to him based on the info I've gleaned from you guys has prompted the player to make a Ninja instead. So I'm guessing from the wording Joint Cased and Friend of Darkness can be stacked together? Seems to be what he's going for, someone who can attack stacking up multiple schticks without a great deal of weakness. He didn't like the Old Master purely because it has Tired Bones.
Now I am being asked to replicate the Ninja Assassin kyoketsu Shoge knife, as a damage 8 weapon in the game. The knife is more the same size of a combat knife damage 6 in my opinion, but the player says realistically speaking it would do more which I'm inclined to disagree with. Basically I guess there's no need for much realism anyway tho, action movie. I let him roll with it because of the movie but I'm already foreseeing some possible issues with the player being pretty demanding of everything going his way or no way, lol. But I think it should be a fun game anyway.
I am trying to set up a few things in a sort of mix between Chinese martial arts and action flicks, and Korean serial TV action/drama, and I'm setting it in Shanghai.
I would say Joint Cased and Friend of Darkness should stack.
I don't know much about the "Ninja Assassin kyoketsu Shoge knife" but the stiletto the default ninja starts with is damage 9, so damage 8 isn't really a problem. The Shoge knife looks like it might be a chain, but that's all description in Feng Shui: no such thing as a reach bonus. Heck the base damage for a whip is 8, so a knife on a chain is probably good at that rating too. (see the Two-Fisted Archeologist for whip stats, and don't for get the "*")
[quote="BlackJaw"]
I don't know much about the "Ninja Assassin kyoketsu Shoge knife"... quote]
It's the weapon from the movie Ninja Assassin Instead of the hooked and bladed end of a normal kyoketsu shoge, this weapon had basically a combat knife at the end of the chain.